Memento Mori: A Camden Mystery

August 07, 2018

As you may know, late last year we launched a watch that quickly become one of our bestsellers, our No.253 Memento Mori special edition. More than just a timepiece, the Memento Mori is a constant reminder to live each day to the fullest.

We really wanted to explore this peculiar Victorian keepsake, so we took the Memento Mori a step further and teamed up with immersive game designers A Door In A Wall to create an event that would not only be inspired by our special edition watch but by Camden's history itself.

After months of research, brainstorming and planning, our full-on immersive mystery game is finally ready.

We sat down and had a chat with our fellow Camdenites and the team behind A Door In A Wall to find out what it's like to create super cool games for a living.

How did you come up with the idea of creating immersive events? What is your background?

A Door In A Wall grew out of a hobby - a few friends creating treasure hunts and London adventures just for fun. The games got more and more popular and ten years later, it’s a successful business, blending games, theatre and the real live buzz of London. The team that make our games come from all kinds of backgrounds: theatre, tech, marketing, project management. Company Director Tom left a job in finance to take on immersive games - quite a change of direction.

What is it like to design games and put puzzles together? Is there any particular protocol you follow each time?

It’s a lot of fun, but there’s a lot to think about! Designing our live games always begins with structure: we try to work out how people move through the game, how long it takes them, what their objectives are. Once we know the shape of the experience, we can start adding thematic elements, and crafting a story to bring it to life. Stories are vital - they make player actions feel meaningful, and provide a basis for engagement by defining players’ place within that story.

Individual puzzles typically come nearer the end of the process. They are often inspired by part of the theme, a character in the story, or an engaging location. For example, in a recent event we found a musical installation in a park and designed a puzzle around it that guided players to a simple tune, the name of which solved the puzzle. Sometimes we have puzzle ideas that just don’t fit into current projects, but they inevitably find their way into future games!

When did you come across The Camden Watch Company and how did you meet Anneke and Jerome?

We first encountered The Camden Watch Company when we were putting together our outdoor adventure around Camden Market: Horses for Corpses last year. Our venue space was just a few doors down from their shop in the market’s North Yard. They got in touch via Instagram and we ran some competitions together to help cross promote. It turns out we have another connection via creative hub Camden Collective - loads of good things happen there!

This year it’s been really great to meet Anneke and Jerome in person and get to know the brand better. They care so much about what they do and manage to imbue their products with the love they have for their neighbourhood. It’s very inspirational!

Why did you decide to collaborate with The Camden Watch Company?

A Door In A Wall are Camden residents as well and we are very excited about working locally, especially with a company who use the area as such a ready source of inspiration. The Memento Mori edition in particular appealed to us as it has such a rich historical message behind it. The idea of time being precious is a great basis for a story, and Camden is flush with cool and characterful locations that celebrate the past, savour the present and inspire the future.

Can you tell us a little bit about what to expect from this event?

We can reveal a few things…

It’s a murder mystery set in 2018 but inspired by Victorian London. Teams of players will be tasked with solving a deadly case by following clues to hidden locations around Camden Town. Expect a few fiendish puzzles, a number of curious characters and a race against the clock. It won’t be easy to gather the evidence in time, but if you can, you might just walk away a winner. It’ll only be running throughout the weekend on 31 August and 1-2 September so set your watches; after that, time’s run out.

Sound like fun? Grab yourself some tickets below and join us for a night to remember...

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